An effective and engaging warm up will always set the tone for the trainees. It can either make the trainees motivated in the training or lose all interest. Having a warm up also allows the trainees to ‘pull out’ important information from the trainees as well as feed the gist of the content from the start.

In this blog, we will cover the following topics:

Why Have a Warm Up?
The Linkert Scale
The Artist
Bingo!
Experience Share
The Treasure Hunt

Why Have a Warm Up?

Some work training you may have had in the past might have gone straight into the content, with warm up, inevitably leading to a training session which might not have fulfilled its full potential. As doing any physical training an exercise, a warm up is a must for the body to get in the right frame for the exercise. It is the same for any training. Having an effective warm up will allow trainees to also get in the right frame. Below are some of the main reasons for a training warm up:

Ice Breaker: A warm up may sometimes be called an ice breaker. However, there are some slight differences. An ice breaker would normally be conducted when the trainers and trainees aren’t familiar with each other. The ice breaker will allow everyone’s guard to drop and become comfortable within the training.

Pull Out: To get the most from any training session, most warm up will look to pull out some information from the trainees. This may be information such as how much the trainees know of the training topic and then adapting accordingly to the training.

Put In: The warm up may also act as the starting point where the trainer is feeding some information to the trainees. However, it is important to note that this should not be the new information yet, but rather information from previous training that may be linked to this training.

Below are 5 effective warm ups that can be used in most training due to these warm ups not only being engaging, but also being adaptive to meet different training needs.

The Linkert Scale

As the name suggest, this is a scale. This is a great warm up to have as it is adaptive to any training situation, with the questions being set by the trainer and the trainees going on the scale to the extent they agree or disagree with the statement. This can help trainers pull out key information from the trainees, as well as get the trainees up and about in the training room. The linkert scale is also flexible in terms of being perfect for both online and offline training.

Due to its simplicity, the linkert scale is useful for a short or long warm up, with the number of questions being decided by the trainer.

Concerns: Some concerns may be that some trainees may not be comfortable sharing their opinions on hard-hitting questions. This is why it is recommended for any trainers using a linkert scale type of warm up to have appropriate and relevant questions, rather than too divisive or controversial questions.

The Artist

As with the linkert scale, this warm up is pretty simple but effective. The task of this warm up is to pull out as much information from the trainees as possible from a picture. Each trainee is given a piece of paper and a pen or pencil. The trainee is given an amount of time to draw what they currently know about the subject or content. It is important to mention to the trainees to not use any text, but only drawing.

This warm up allows the trainer to determine any conception or misconception the trainees may have on the training matter, base by their drawing. This warm up also gets trainees interested in the subject and engaged for the training ahead.

Concerns: One concern, depending on the trainees, may be the willingness to draw. Some trainees may not want to share their drawing or some may state ‘I can’t draw.’ The purpose is not to find the next Van Gogh from the drawing, the purpose is to see what the trainees know about the training through a different art form!

Bingo!

A simple game, but one that’s enjoyable and well known by everyone! It does require some preparation before hand, however the preparation will not take an extensive amount of time. It is recommended to be done on a 3x3 board in order for time, enjoyment and what the trainees can get out of this warm up activity! Bingo can be used as a tester of what the trainees know about the training topic, or as a warm up, with the bingo board filled with information such as ‘someone who speaks another language’, where the trainees have to go and find the trainees who meet one of their information.

If the trainer has a small prize (chocolate or something easy) at the end, Bingo becomes more exciting for the trainees. It also acts as a both pull out and a put in warm up activity. The trainer can pull out information trainees may already know about the training, as well as putting in new definition of key information that is part of the training.

Concerns: If the definition is too difficult for the trainees, frustration may set and the trainees may not want to participate. The trainers need to also ensure that they have prepared enough variation of bingo boards to match the number of trainees.

Experience Share

As with Bingo, the experience share warm up can be an ice breaker or an activity to pull out information from the trainees. This warm up has minimum preparation time and is very easy to organize.

Depending on the training, the trainer can have the trainees discuss in pairs, small groups or even mingle about the experience they have had with the training topic. For example if the training is on communication, the trainees can discuss communication in their department, both positive and negative experience of communication and how they felt after both sets of communication.

If the experience share is being implemented as an ice breaker, then it is recommended that some pre-set suggested questions be given to the trainees in order for them not to run into a blank wall. The trainees can then again discuss in pairs, small groups or mingle to discuss their experience with these questions and see some commonality or differences they may have with each other.

Concerns: One concern may be some trainees may be hesitant to share their experience. If pulling out information, some trainees may worry about repercussion if sharing ‘bad experience’. If being used as an ice-breaker, some trainees may not want to share about their personal life, preferring to keep work life and home life separated. It is the job of the trainer before the training to organize the pairs or groups appropriately in order to maximize this warm up!

The Treasure Hunt

Out of all of the other warm ups mentioned, this one will take the most time to prepare for the trainer. Preparation will begin when the training has been finalized, as well as the physical location of the training. Unlike the other 4 warm ups mentioned, this warm up is extremely difficult to do for an online training and is only recommended for offline trainings.

Before the training, the trainer will need to prepare a treasure map of the training room, as well as some items and clues for the trainees. The trainers can also prepare some pictures to help with finding the treasure.

For the training, the trainer will put the trainees in small groups. The trainer will inform the trainees that there’s a treasure hidden in the vicinity and that the trainees will have to work together in their groups to solve the clues to find the treasure, with each clue leading to the next clue. The teams will then go and try and find the treasure.

Concerns: For this warm up to be successful, it will need to be explained carefully, as well as checked that all trainees understand. If there’s a lack of understanding from one or more trainees, it can disrupt how they feel for the rest of the training. It is also important to ensure that the clues are not too easy or complicated, in order to ensure the warm up takes an appropriate amount of time. The clues whilst linked to the training will need to be clear enough for trainees to understand as whilst the trainer is pulling out the information, the trainees may not have the information to pull out yet!

For any warm up being implemented, it is important the trainer understand the purpose of the warm up before implementing it, as well as if possible to test out the warm up with others!

All warm ups should serve a purpose for the overall training!

5 Effective Training Warm Ups